Friday, September 10, 2010

DFER is supporting Mayor Fenty in a big way:

Dear Friends,

Time to shake off the long-weekend. Adrian Fenty's primary election day is one week away.

From Fenty's first day as mayor of Washington DC, he has addressed the district's troubled school system head-on. Education reform has been his administration's hallmark, as he's focused on results and accountability. The student outcomes already apparent just a few years into his tenure are astounding.

Fenty's education restructuring plan gave him mayoral control of the district's schools, enabling him to appoint a schools chancellor who answers directly to him. DC's dynamic chancellor Michelle Rhee, a true reform champion, has already said she'll quit if Fenty loses. Rhee has drawn plain lines in the sand where adult interests like tenure trump the interests of students. One of the most important results is that she's demonstrated the kinds of reforms that are possible when would-be reformers throughout the country are willing to get messy. Her departure would be a massive setback for the reform movement.

Election day is one week from today. Fenty has a tough week ahead of him but he can still pull this out with your help. Close primary elections (and this one's close – Fenty and Gray have been neck-and-neck for weeks) come down to turnout, which is why any contribution, big or small, makes a huge difference.